CBCSL urges govt. to implement LLRC recommendations
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka has made an appeal to
the government towards implementation of the Recommendations of the
Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation. The full
text of the statement is given below:
Much has been written and discussed since the publication of the
Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). The
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) is conscious of the
important ministry of reconciliation Jesus has entrusted to His
disciples. Jesus in His well-known Sermon on the Mount exhorted His
disciples: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called
children of God" (Matthew 5:9). St. Paul writing his second letter to
the Corinthian Community exhorted: "All this is from God, who reconciled
us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of
reconciliation, that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to
himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting the
message of reconciliation to us" (2 Cor.5:18-19).
CBCSL wishes to look at the Report of the commission mindful of this
Biblical imperative and invitation to be peacemakers and agents of
reconciliation in this post-war society of Sri Lanka. We believe that it
is not incorrect to state that the most unfortunate experience of war
was the result of thousands of missed opportunities. Hence, it is our
great responsibility to clinch yet another vital opportunity God places
before us. In this connection the Report states in its Premable: "Sri
Lanka now faces a moment of unprecedented opportunity; Rarely does such
an opportunity come along without equally important attendant challenges
(p.l). It states further "The recommendations of the Commission could
nevertheless constitute a framework for action' by all stakeholders, in
particular the government, political parties and community leaders"
(p.2).
LLRC report
CBCSL acknowledges that every document formulated within given
historical circumstances necessarily contains limitations. Hence, no
document can meet all the expectations and answer the needs of everyone.
However, the LLRC report, particularly its recommendations, does contain
much potential and hope for the future. We believe that it still does
provide the nation with a good basis and a point of departure for the
challenging and arduous task of national reconciliation. The Report
highlights the hope it encompasses in these words saying that "the work
of the Commission proceeded acknowledging a clear need to heal the
wounds of the past and to make recommendations to reconcile the nation
by recognizing all victims of conflict, providing redress to them and
thereby promoting national unity, peace and harmony" (Article 1.7, p.6).
Hence, the CBCSL wishes to urge the government to do all that is in
its power to take a serious look at the Recommendations contained
therein. Let us not permit yet another valuable opportunity to pass us
by. We believe that many of its recommendations have the potential to
contribute to healing of wounds and bring about harmony and
reconciliation and thus also counteract mounting international pressure.
Hence, our earnest plea is to implement the potential recommendations
as early as possible since peace and reconciliation are the most vital
and urgent needs of the present moment. We believe that serious and
honest efforts to implement its recommendations would contribute much
for the forging of national harmony and unity of our beloved country.
Good governance
We wish to earnestly urge that the government come up with some
symbolic gestures and acts that would lead the nation towards harmony
and reconciliation. Permit us to identify some of the recommendations.
The report needs to be disseminated to the masses. It would be necessary
to have the report, particularly its recommendations, translated into
the two official languages of the nation. Moving beyond the Sinhala only
position, we need to address seriously the issue of the language. Let
all that concerns good governance be implemented. Illegal armed groups
need to be disarmed.
We also urge that the government address that painful issue of the
missing persons and present a list of those who are still in custody as
it always helps anyone to know if and when his or her loved ones are no
more. The government is duty bound to give an account as to what
happened to those who are not in custody. People's right to legitimate
information needs to be respected. We need to recognize that grieving
over the loved ones lost is a legitimate and a deep-seated need of all
human beings. Once recognized, we would enable people to look to the
future and move on in life.
We are also urged to recognize our failures. The report states that
"both the government and the public had failed to utilize the potential
of the promotion of creativity of arts, for the betterment of society"
and that we need to recognize how much art could contribute to promote
understanding among the communities. We need to identify the linguistic
and cultural commonalities and affinities in establishing a Sri Lankan
identity and be mindful of the fact "Sinhalese and Tamil cultures had
very rich roots, and that there must be a cultural renaissance through
art, drama and music". (Articles 9.272,9.273,0.385).
Mindful of our own distinct role as religious Leaders and of our
responsibility to do everything that is within our purview, we also urge
the government to appoint a responsible body of persons who would
carefully monitor the intended process of implementation. We wish to
join all those men and women of goodwill and together with them we
earnestly exhort the government to do all within its power to implement
urgently the recommendations of the Commission and thus contribute to
the greatly needed harmony and reconciliation of our beloved nation. |